Just Pretend

Chapter Five

Jason

I find Clarissa in the living room, her little face scrunched up in concentration.
‘What’s up?’ I ask and she lifts her eyes to mine before tears start falling down her cheeks.  I instantly head over to her, bending down and wrapping my arms around her as her body starts shaking like a leaf and warm tears soak my shirt.
‘I don’t understand why he’s so mean,’ she mutters against my shoulder and my arms tighten around my niece, pulling her little body closer to mine.
‘He’s insecure in himself,’ I whisper and she pulls back, her face contorting in anger as she meets my eyes.  I bite back a smile at her passion but I don’t say another word until she says that he needs to grow up.  I burst out laughing but agree with her, knowing that the six-year-old in my arms has more emotional maturity than a thirty plus year old guy.
‘Gwen’s too nice to have to deal with that.  Will you be her knight in shining armour and save her from the dragon?’ she asks suddenly and I almost chose on the spit I’m swallowing, only to be shocked further into silence when Clarissa starts explaining why she thinks I’ll be the best choice for the job.
‘I can’t promise anything, Ris, but I will try and be her friend,’ I reassure her and Clarissa nods firmly before demanding that I eat.  I laugh as she climbs onto my back and I stand from the crouch I’d fallen into, taking her with me in walking to the kitchen and getting everything I need for the smoothie I want to make.
‘Your mom and dad are coming home today,’ I tell Clarissa and she nods gently, her chin digging into my shoulder as she watches my actions from my back. 
‘Where are you going to stay?’ She asks and I shrug, hoping to clear that out with Gwen a little later, but more so I’m hoping that she saw what I mouthed before leaving her alone with a guy that I don’t trust after meeting him once.
‘I’ll figure something out,’ I say more to myself than to Clarissa, but she looks up at me with eyes full of hope and taps her chin, deep in thought.
“You think of something while I go for a quick shower,” I tell her, taking my smoothie with me, and she nods slowly, her eyes glazing over with thought.  I shake my head and head to the bedroom I’m using, and grabbing my towel from the closet door and my bodywash from the dresser.  I make my way to the bathroom and close the door behind me and locking it, before stripping and turning my body to the shower.
I pull the door open and open the water of the rainfall shower, letting the water warm up before I step underneath.  The scent of chlorine fills the bathroom the second the water touches my skin and I take the time to make sure that I stop smelling like chlorine.
Once I’m done and dried off, I pull on a black fitted jean along with a white shirt and make my way downstairs, where Clarissa come bounding up to me, a grin plastered on her face.
‘What if you stay in the house with Gwen?’ she asks and I laugh, knowing a smart woman like Gwen wouldn’t allow a stranger to live with her, but I let Clarissa keep giving me ideas on how to complete Mark’s quest while I clean up the house for my sister.
‘Ris, I know that you want me to find someone,’ I tell her when she’s calmed down and sitting at the kitchen counter, swinging her legs while I boil the kettle for coffee. 
‘You always look so sad when you see other people together,’ she says and I smile softly at her.  I’m ready to settle down but the women these days only seem to want the bad guys.  They’ve no interest in guys who worship the ground they walk on.
That’s the type of guy I see myself as, anyway.
‘There’s no one that you would approve of,’ I tell her and she rises up to her knees on the chair and leans her elbows on the table, her eyes narrowing at me.
‘I approve of Gwen.  She’s sad too,’ she says and I frown, turning to look at her completely, asking her why she says that Gwen is sad.  She continues to explain that Gwen has a downward tilt of her lips when she’s with her fiancé but it disappeared when she’s alone.
She then adds that Gwen makes good cakes and speaks eight languages, to which my eyes almost fall out of their sockets in shock.

It doesn’t take long for my sister and brother-in-law to come home, the sound of their voices carrying from the front of the house when they walk through the front door and Clarissa squeals in excitement when she hears her parents.  I laugh and call after her that she doesn’t love me, to which she simply replies that I’m full of it.
Of what, she’s not allowed to say.
The rest of the I spent trying to think of a way for me to spend more time with Gwen and get to know her while Mark is away without me suggesting that I stay with her.  I know Mark’s type of guy and he’s the jealous type.
He’s the type that thinks he can fuck around with a girl and she should still follow his lead and kiss his feet when he demands it.
A guy like that doesn’t belong with a girl like Gwen.
No woman deserves to be belittled in front of a total stranger.
The thought of someone treating her like that in front of others was terrifying, but what terrifies me the most is how he is with her behind closed doors.  There are no physical signs of abuse on her body, except for the limp, but Mark’s a big guy, it could be normal for her to limp.
I need to establish what’s normal for Gwen.
I can’t figure out how this woman I’d spoken to twice managed to worm herself into my mind so quickly and I wasn’t trying to get into her pants. Yet.
‘Jace! How’re you?’ my sister asks as I follow Clarissa out of the living room and grin as my sister wraps her arms around my waist, wrapping mine around her shoulders.
‘I’m good.  How was your holiday?’ I ask Will over her head where he’s busy hauling in the luggage.  Alysson lets me go and I head over to help Will while Alyssa gives her daughter a little love. 
‘Good.  It was nice getting away from Gremlin for a while,’ Will replies and I chuckle softly as he nods in the direction of the front door.  Alyssa is holding Clarissa over her head while the six-year-old laughs her head off at her mother pulling faces up at her.
‘But I missed her like crazy,’ he says fondly, his eyes on the pair in the foyer and a small smile playing on his lips.  He turns his gaze on me and I can tell by the expression in his eyes what he’s about to ask me and holding up my hand to stop him before he opens his mouth.
‘Soon,’ his eyes widen in surprise but I shrug, trying to stop myself from looking over the fence of the silent house next door.  The only sounds coming from Gwen’s is the sound of a game being played as my ears strain to try and hear her voice.
‘You’ve never said that,’ Will says with raised eyebrows and asking me what’s hanged over the last week.  Again, I shrug and he follows my gaze to the fence before looking up at me with raised eyebrows.
‘Well, I can’t say anything more than that,’ I answer and Will nods in understanding, his gaze lingering on the fence before we grab the last of the luggage before heading inside.
‘I hope you’re staying for dinner,’ Alyssa says as she starts dragging the cool box into the kitchen with Clarissa helping by pushing it with all her weight; both hands braced on the lid and putting her legs into pushing the box.  Will and I watch her for a second while I answer my sister that I’d love to.
Of course, Clarissa takes this moment to decide to let both her parents know about the events of the last two days.
‘Uncle Jace met Gwen!’ she hollers from the kitchen and two sets of eyes land on me.  I scowl and stick my tongue out at Clarissa, who laughs and returns the expression before hiding behind her mother’s legs.  She peeks around Alyssa’s legs, watching me with big eyes and I shake my head at her.
She pouts and I sigh, to which she laughs and runs to the living room and out the back door.  Will follows his daughter more slowly, his eyes searching my expression, but I shrug.
‘She’s a nice girl,’ Alyssa says and I nod in agreement, knowing that she wants to know more.
‘I just took her lighter to her,’ I say and Alyssa stops midway between bending over to retrieve the rest of the cold things that taken with and turns her head slowly to look at me; her expression calculating.
‘And? What happened?’ She asks and I help her to unpack the cool box, trying to avoid answering her.
‘I met her fiancé and he asked me, a stranger, to make sure that she doesn’t do go out,’ I reply finally and Alyssa groans.
‘I’ve never seen anyone be that possessive of someone they don’t want,’ she says, looking around me at the back of the house before turning her eyes back on me.
‘I’m scared for her,’ Alyssa says softly and I nod in agreement as we continue unpacking the cool box and dragging in the next.  We unpack the rest in silence and she keeps shooting me glances as we continue until I put the two empty containers in the garage and walk back through the backyard.
Her voice floats over the yard in a language that I can’t understand or place but her voice is melodic as she speaks and when she laughs I can hear it’s a true laugh.
When I look over the fence, I see her standing with her back to me with her phone to her ear and turning around slowly.  I get her attention and she smiles gently when she sees me and pins her phone between her ear and her shoulder, pointing to the pool area and holding up both hands.  I nod subtly and a grin flashes over her face as she continues talking to the person on the other end of the line.